Scoop ice cream, not coal!

Dirty energy is making a big mess – a mess of our planet and a mess of our reef.

20 March 2017

To avoid disastrous impacts to our precious planet, we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. But in Queensland, plans are being finalised for a coal megamine - a mine that will wreck the Reef, cook the climate and effect local indigenous communities!

We’re all on board with the fact that climate change is real, and it’s already happening. Scientists agree that to prevent our environment from altering drastically, we need to stop average global temperatures from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius. This means that in order to avoid disastrous impacts to our planet, we need to make sure that 80% of current fossil fuel reserves remain in the ground.

But in Australia, plans are being finalized to build Australia’s largest coal mine in the middle of Queensland. The Queensland and Federal Governments have agreed to every one of Adani’s, the company building the mine, needs – including $1 billion of taxpayer funds and all the free water the mine wants. It’s never been more important for the Australian people to come together and stop this megamine.

We Can Beat Our Fossil Fuel Addiction

For a big country with loads of sun, wind and sea, Australia's record on green energy is poor. We set low targets at 2015’s Paris Climate Agreement, and we're set to miss them by miles. And that's without huge new mines like those planned for Queensland.

The Adani Mine, will produce around 60 million tonnes of coal a year for 60 years. And the mining and burning of that coal will generate an estimated 4.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. If we want to stand any chance of keeping the promises made in Paris, then we must act now!

Why coal is bad for our Reef

Many of us think of the Great Barrier Reef as a technicolour dreamworld but for much of the reef sadly that's no longer the case. Coral bleaching caused by warming seas is sucking the colour and life out of our coral. “Not only will the mine’s expanded port be the reef’s new neighbour but the burning of all that extra coal will lead to increase global warming. Bad news for the reef, the fish and other marine life that live call it home.

We’ve helped to protect the reef before on our Fight for the Reef Scoop Tour, campaigning to stop mining companies dumping torn-up seabed in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park – and it worked! Now today we must work towards an even bigger goal – to save not just the reef but the planet too!

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About Ben & Jerry's

From a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, to far-off places with names we sometimes mispronounce, the journey that began in 1978 with 2 guys and the ice cream business they built is as legendary as the ice cream is euphoric.

Ben & Jerry’s operates on a three-part mission that aims to create linked prosperity from everyone that’s connected to our business. From marriage equality to cow-friendly farming, there are many issues we hold close to our hearts.